Safety appliance for aeroplanes



J. P. BALL.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR AEROPLANES. APPLICATION m n) June 1920.

2 SHEETs-sH'EET 1-.

'- figure Patented-Feb. 22-, 1921.

J. P. MU.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, 1920.

Fi /are I7ZY/en207 UNITED srra ii i Y .ToHN r. B LL, or CHICAGO, InL'INoIs. 1;

sArn'rY APP IANCE non anaornannsgj T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J oI-1N P. BALn, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of-Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, United, States of America, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Appliances for Aeroplanes, of which the following is. a specification;

This invention relates to devices. for appliance of an emergency brake for changing the center of gravity of an aeroplane in case of enginetrouble-or wreckage ofany parttof-the machine.

Her etofore it has been common to use an independent parachute in case of an accident to an aeroplane, in which'the aviator seizes the parachute and abandons the aeroplane.

My invention provides improvements especially. applicable to safety devices. of

this general character and in its preferred form it utilizes two main rib members sup-; porting the body of the machine andindependent of the engine and operators .Chitll',

zontal agile and supported in suitable bearings on the hinged engine-ribs, and is free to move in the bearings and beingsufliciently balanced so as to maintain a direct or uprightposition while the hingedrib's are being lowered.

My invention also includes guy lines for supporting the" planes in abalanced position and in the form of a parachute while the engine is in a downward orright angular location, means for securing the hinged engine-ribs to the mainbody ribs and means for tripping the hooked lever and thereby lowering the engine and op'er'ators chair into a downward or rectangular location and thereby transforming the whole machine into the assumed form of a parachute, also a safety lock to secure the 'direct position, of the hinged engine-ribs longitudinally with the main' body ribs.

Application filed-'J'une 7, 1920; Serial" No. 387,261."

I-F' CB i 1 Specification of Letters iPlfatent. Pgltented 22 1 921 Myinvention also includes means fa ed.

justing the guy lines and the lowering'mechanism, thereby governing the horizontal po-- s1t1on of the planes and balancing of the machine While. in an emergency, and various features of improvements in constructional:

hereinafter more fullyidescribedu f j v My invention-also includes-a set of s and;

rangements and details all of which will be;v

ard ribs, vertically locatedat app'roxi'mately the center" portion ofthe machine','the lower ends being-supportedby the main body ribs and the upper ends provided with'pilll'eys engaging wlth an endless belt whereby the operators .chairand engineqma'y. be raised above the planes of the machine. In the accompanying ;drawings which show fcertai'n adaptations of myin'vention," Flgurel'is a longltudinal view showing the engine andoperators chairin-a direct positron. Fig; 2 is also a-longltudinal view and showing the englne and the operators chair inan emergency or downward position or-in '80 a parachutal form. Fig. '3 is a vertical longltudlnal section showing. the. details of the rib members, the tripping device, and the lowering mechanisrm. Fig. 4 'is ahorizo'ntal longitudinal:section Sl'lbWIlIlgIthefdetttllS of v 5 thebody ribs. r v Referrlng to the drawingsA indicates the main body rib members, B the'hinged-engine-rib members, 0 the central hinge, D the tripping lever and hook, E the safety lock,

F the axial center pin supporting the hinge joint, G the endless belt forloweringithe engine-ribs and governing the location of. the center of gravity otth'emachine, Hrthe" f central engine pin to which-the endless belt is secured, J the set of pulleys'over which the endless belt passes, K the.-brake. lever bearing on the forward pulley and ic0n-fi trolling the lowering of the. engine ribs,-xL

indicates the operators chairssupported on 7 theax-leM which .in turnis supported in the bearings N on the'hinge'd rib, member; In Figs. 3 and 4 the standard ribs O are-provided'with-a pulley 'P at the upper end thereof, Q, represents the'endless belt passing over the pulleys P and B, by which the hinged rib the mechanism whereby the operator may raise or lower thehinged set of ribs. Referring to Figs. 1 t o4:',.I will now" describe in 'detail the preferred formlof my'in- 'vention'in the adaptation herein illustrated.

There are two main-body ribsfAythe' basic maybe raised abovethe plane,'Z represents the machine, the main ribs A are braced to each other in any suitable manner, such as A frame bracing. These may be of the usual or. suitable construction and arrangement capable of giving the required strength to the bodysupport; There are two hinged ribs, B, for engine support and they consist of'any suitable material of suflicient strength to carry the designed parts, and while in a 1 direct position of the engine they are 10- Y cated parallel to and'belowthe main rib members and are hinged thereto at about the center of the machine by means of eye bars and a main pm as shown .at'F in Fig.3.

' The pin F is fixed to the two main rib members by means of clampsC. The eye bars that formthe hinged ribs are free to rotate on the pin F and are held in placelatera-lly by means of the nut head s-d.

" The engine and. engine frame are supported'by the hinged rib B by means of suitable clamps e, and while in a direct position the-engine and engine frame together with the hinged rib are supported by the main rib Inember by means of the hook and lever and the safety lock E while in a locked position. By releasing the hook f and the safety set of pulleys J at the ends of the rib frame lock E the engine and engine frame is swung 111130 the downward. position as in Fig.2.

The guy lines G are supported at the central' pinH and at the several points ofthe winged planes suspend the whole frame in an approximately horizontal position In order to prevent the machine from dropping abruptly into a downward position, the main rib frame is provided with a r and an endless belt G fastened to the engine at H travels over: the pulleys. The relative position of the engine ribs to the position of the body ribs may be regulated by means'of endless'belt passing over the operating pulley atZ, whereby the body ribs may be hGlCl lIL an-inclinal or an anticlined position. Theengine" is lowered into a downward'position bymeans of abrake lever, K, bearing on the forward pulley.

The *operators chair] is supported independently on the hinged rib member by v means of the axle Mandthe bearings N,

the chairmember being free to rotate in the bearings'and being suitably weighted so as to maintain an upright position regardless of the ipositiono'f the hinged rib-member;

The standard ribs 0' are constructed of suitablesize andmaterial so as to act as a mast for raising the engine ribs. The standardf'ribs are bolted at the lower end to .the main set of body ribs at the approximate center of the machine, the upper end is provided with a set of pulleys P on a cross arm between the standard ribs. An endless belt, Q, passes over the pulleys P and the Ipulleys at R and is fastened to the engine frame from a position in line with said main rib to a position below the hinged end of the supplementary ribs. I 1 a v 2. In aeroplanes and devices of a similar character, the combination of aset of main ribs located longitudinally with the ma chine, and a set of supplemental ribs hinged at one end to the approximately central point longitudinallyof said main set of ribs, an engine and an operators" chair independently located on the outerend of said supplemental ribs and means for swinging said supplemental ribs-together with operators chair andengine from'a'position in line with said body ribs to a position below the center of gravity of said ma'chines whereby the center of gravity of said machines is lowered. r

3. In aeroplanes and devices of a similar character, "the combination of a set of main body ribs located longitudinally with the machine and a set of supplemental ribs hinged at one end to the said 'main'body ribs, saidhinged point, being located'at the approximate center of gravity of body frame, a swinging operators chair, an en gme and engine framelocated at. the outer central point loigitudinally of said .main body ribs, means for swinging saidengine ribs from a direct position in line with said body ribs to a v tripped position below the" center of gravity of said machine, an op erators chair suspended in aswinging posit1on axially from sald engine ribs, lugsv on ribs hinged atone end to the approximately said body ribs and hooked levers engaged therewith, means for lowering. saidengine 15 point longitudinally of said main body ribs,

frame and operators chair from a position in line with said body ribs to a position below the hinged inner end. of the supplemental engine ribs, means'for regulating the relative position of the said supplemental engine ribs with the said main body ribs, whereby the position of the planes are either inclined or anticlined.

v 5. In aeroplanes and devices of a similar character, a safety appliance of the class describech the combination of a set of main body ribs located longitudinally With the machine, a supplementary set of ribs hinged at one end to the approximately central an engine and an operators chair on the outer end of said supplementary ribs, a set of standard ribs fixed at the lower end to the approximately central point of said body ribs and perpendicular thereto, an endless belt engaging With a plurality of pulleys located at the upper end of said standard ribs and connected to said engine ribs Whereby said engine ribs may be raised to a position above said machine.

JOHN P. BALL. Witnesses:

GEO. M. BALL, ALICE E.'BALL. 

